we've been hearing about an 85-year-old man merrill newman from california who is being held in north korea. a month ago, newman, a tourist, was pulled from a plane on the runway just before headeg home from north korea. as terrell brown reports, his family still has no idea wheny he's been detained or when he might be released. >> reporter: merrill newman is 85 years old with a heart condition. his son, jeff, says it's been more than three weeks since anyone has heard from him. >> we've been in regular contact with the state department since the beginning of the detention, but we don't have any new information. >> reporter: newman, a korean war veteran, went to the country on a cite seeing tour with a friend last month. he was arrested after boarding his flight home to pal bradshaw, california. robert carlin is a cbs news analyst. >> why they would hold an american citizen at exactly the time they're trying to get more tourists into the country seems to me a little odd. >> reporter: korean war veterans and tourists have been traveling to north korea in recent years without incident,